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Easy White Chicken Chili

I like two kinds of chili – Cincinnati chili and this white chicken chili. I hate onions and most chilis have onions. This one doesn’t and the flavors are amazing. It’s kind of the perfect dinner for a cold winter evening.

And it’s won more than its fair share of chili cook-offs in the past ten years. It’s also one of our favorites for a Super Bowl party – perfect for serving to a crowd!

This white bean chicken chili (and this homemade chicken noodle soup) is a staple at our house during the fall, winter, oh and spring/summer. It takes a little while to make but the extra effort of caramelizing the corn and grilling the chicken is what makes this chili recipe so amazing.

White Bean Chicken Chili Ingredients

This white chicken chili is made up of all of the best ingredients – nothing processed or pre-made. That’s one of the reasons it’s so tasty!

Olive oil – we prefer olive oil in this recipe but you could also use avocado oil or coconut oil, it’s used to caramelize the corn

Garlic cloves – don’t buy the pre-minced kind, just mince these on your own

Mexican blend cheese – you can also use cheddar or another favorite cheese, this is just for garnish

Cilantro – also optional, if cilantro tastes like soap to you then leave it off – just a garnish

Toppings of your choice – this would be great with some sour cream, tortilla strips, avocado slices, jalapeno slices, or any other toppings of your choice

How to Make White Chicken Chili

This white bean chicken chili takes a bit of time but that time is totally worth it in the end. And all of the steps are SUPEr easy! It’s easy white chicken chili but does take a bit of time to simmer and let the flavors combine.

You can watch the video below to see how easily this comes together!

1 – Marinate the Chicken

You start by marinating your chicken in the spices. If you skip the marinating part, the flavor won’t be as good.

Once the chicken is marinated, grill it and shred it.

Yes, you could just bake, saute, or cook the chicken however but the smokiness of the grilled chicken really makes this white bean chili amazing.

2 – Caramelize the Corn

While your chicken is cooking, put your corn in a pan and cook it until it’s nice and crispy.

Don’t be tempted to flip it too often or you’ll end up with warm corn but not caramelized corn – and this is a game-changer for this white bean chicken chili. The flavor of the caramelized corn is amazing.

3 – Make Your White Chicken Chili Base

Next up, you’re going to actually make your chili starting by combining the shredded chicken, spices, and a little flour. Read through the actual recipe below for tips and timing on these additions!

Once that’s all mixed together, you add the chicken stock, beans, and corn and bring it to a boil before moving onto the next step.

4 – Let the White Chicken Chili Thicken

Technically once things get to a boil, everything will be warm and cooked. You could eat it then BUT you aren’t going to want to because it’ll be super thin.

Instead, simply let the white bean chicken chili simmer until it’s thick. The flour that you added with the chicken in the first few steps of this recipe will help thicken it up.

Do not add more flour at this point if you think it’s still too thin – the flour won’t mix in the same way and you’ll end up floury tasting broth.

Just wait it out. The longer it simmers, the more chicken stock will be reduced, and the thicker it’ll be. We typically let it simmer until the chicken stock has been reduced by half.

5 – Serve and Garnish

Once the white chicken chili is thickened, it’s ready to serve! You can choose what to garnish it with but I’ve included some of our favorite toppings below! I also love to serve it with this yummy cornbread recipe and pumpkin crunch cake for dessert!

Tortilla strips

Sour cream

Chopped cilantro

Shredded cheese

Jalapeno coins

Sliced black olives

White Chicken Chili FAQs

These are just some of the questions I get about this recipe on a regular basis! If your question isn’t answered here, leave me a comment, and I’ll answer as soon as possible!

How to Make White Chicken Chili Thicker?

The flour that you added with the chicken in the first few steps of this recipe will help thicken it up. Do not add more flour at this point if you think it’s still too thin – the flour won’t mix in the same way and you’ll end up floury tasting broth.

Just wait it out. The longer it simmers, the more chicken stock will be reduced, and the thicker it’ll be. We typically let it simmer until the chicken stock has been reduced by half.

Is White Chicken Chili Low Carb?

No, this is not a low carb recipe. There are a good amount of carbs in the corn, beans, and flour that helps to thicken the chili. If you would like a low-carb chili recipe, this Cincinnati chili is a great keto friendly option!

Is White Chicken Chili Healthy?

There are so many different definitions of healthy these days that I’m not going to say yes or no to this. If you’re eating Keto, Whole 30, or low-carb, this isn’t the chili for you. This Cincinnati chili recipe might be though!

If you want a chili that tastes great and doesn’t have any added sugar, preservatives, or processed foods – this is a great option!

And just like with anything else, eating in moderation is key. If you eat the entire pot of chili, it’s definitely not healthy!

How to Make White Chicken Chili Creamy?

This creamy white chicken chili is already creamy. The soup part of the chili thickens and gets creamy as you simmer off the liquid. If you’d like to make it more soupy and less creamy, simmer for less time!

How Long Does White Chicken Chili Last?

It depends on how long it takes you to eat it! I’m kidding, sort of. This never lasts long in our house. If you want to keep it and eat leftovers, I recommend eating leftovers within five days or freezing.

Any other toppings you'd like for garnish - sour cream, tomatoes, etc.

Chicken Marinade

1Tolive oil

2Tlime juice

2Twater

1tspcumin

1tspchili powder

2garlic cloves, minced

1/2tsporegano

1/2tspsmoked paprika

1tspfennel

Instructions

Salt and marinade your chicken. If you have time, let chicken marinade for at least a 1/2 hour. If not, go ahead and grill right away.

Grill chicken. Once fully cooked, let cool then shred chicken.

Heat 1 T olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add corn.

Toss corn in olive oil to coat, sprinkle with kosher salt, and roast for 8-10 minutes or until caramelized and brown, only stirring every few minutes. Once caramelized pull out and set aside.

Add 2 T olive oil to the same pot you used to cook the corn and heat to medium heat. Once hot, add chicken and cook for 1-2 minutes just to reheat. Sprinkle spices (up through chili powder) over chicken, cook for another minute.

Add flour to chicken, stirring to coat and cook for another minute.

Add 1 cup chicken stock to deglaze, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom.

Add the other 3 cups of chicken stock, beans, and corn. Bring to a boil.

Lower the heat and simmer 30-45 minutes or until reduced by half and thickened.

Salt to taste. Be careful to not over salt if you will be adding salty cheese and/or eating with salty chips. It's better to under salt.

Serve hot and garnish with cheese, cilantro, and other desired toppings.

Oh good Kari, I was hoping Cinncinnai chili didn’t have any onions. And I like a three-way but won’t touch anything more than that. I would love to come out to Ohio but doesn’t look like it’ll be happening anytime soon.

making this right now –almost ready to reheat chicken-and mix it all together:) I am Pretty excited taking it to a gathering tonight–Thanks for the recipe w/ pictures always makes it better too so you know if you are on the right track

I have a thing for chili and I have a few great recipes but this one goes the extra mile. I think I’ll make it this weekend for a Halloween party I’m going to! Thanks for sharing on Saturday Night Fever! Pinning this to our group board as well as my dinner idea board. See you again this Saturday!

A lot of the flavor (and what makes it so good) is the caramelized corn and grilled chicken. If you want to use a crock pot to keep it warm at your work, you can do that but I’d recommend not actually cooking it all in the crock pot for maximum flavor. I would do steps 1-8 on the stove then transfer to a crock pot to keep it warm and thicken the chili.

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